Article 21

Any voter born of a Tunisian father or mother and who is at least twenty-three years of age on the day he submits his candidacy, is eligible for election to the Chamber of Deputies.

A candidate to the Chamber of Advisors must be born of a Tunisian father or mother; he must also be at least forty years of age on the day he submits his candidacy, and he must be a voter.

These conditions apply to all the members of the Chamber of Advisors.

A candidate to the Chamber of Advisors must also have, as the case may be, a professional capacity entitling him to stand as candidate for the sector of employers, farmers or wage-earners.

Each member of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Chamber of Advisors shall, before assuming his functions, take the following oath :

" I swear by God the Almighty to serve my country loyally, to respect the Constitution and to pledge allegiance exclusively to Tunisia ."

 

Article 22

The Chamber of Deputies is elected for five years during the last thirty days of its mandate.

The term of office for the members of the Chamber of Advisors is six years. Half of its composition is renewed every three years.

Article 23

Should war or imminent peril make it impossible to hold elections, the mandates of the Chamber of Deputies or of the Chamber of Advisors are extended by a law adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, until such time as it is possible to proceed with the elections. In this case, the extension applies to the remaining members of the Chamber of Advisors.

Article 24

The headquarters of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Chamber of Advisors shall be located in Tunis and its suburbs. However, under exceptional circumstances, one of the chambers or both of them may hold their sessions at any other location within the territory of the Republic.

Article 25

Every deputy is the representative of the entire Nation.

Article 26

A member of the Chamber of Deputies or a member of the Chamber of Advisors may not be prosecuted, arrested, or tried for opinions expressed, proposals made, or acts carried out in the exercise of his mandate within each chamber.

Article 27

No member of the Chamber of Deputies or of the Chamber of Advisors may, during his term of office, be prosecuted or arrested for a crime or misdemeanor, so long as the concerned chamber has not lifted the immunity protecting him.

In the event of flagrante delicto , however, a deputy may be placed under arrest. The concerned chamber must be informed without delay. The detention is suspended if the concerned chamber so requests.

During its recess, the concerned chamber is replaced by its bureau.

Article 28

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors exercise the legislative power, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

The power to initiate laws is shared equally by the President of the Republic and the members of the Chamber of Deputies. Priority is given to bills submitted by the President of the Republic.

Bills submitted by the members of the Chamber of Deputies are not acceptable if their adoption leads to the reduction of public resources or adds new costs or expenses.

These provisions apply also to amendments introduced into the bills.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors may authorize the President of the Republic, for a set period of time and for a specific purpose, to issue decrees which he submits, as the case may be, to ratification by the Chamber of Deputies or by both chambers, upon expiration of that period.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors adopt organic laws by an absolute majority of its members, and adopt ordinary laws by a majority of the members present. This majority must not be less than one-third of the members of the concerned chamber.

 

A bill for an organic law may not be submitted to deliberation by the Chamber of Deputies until two weeks after it has been tabled.

Laws considered to be of an organic nature are those specified by Articles 4, 8, 9, 10, 33, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 and 75 of the Constitution. The Electoral Code is an organic law.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors adopt draft finance laws and bills concerning regulation of the budget under the terms stipulated in the organic budget law. If on December 31 the Chamber of Advisors does not adopt the draft finance laws whereas the Chamber of Deputies adopts them before that date, the laws are submitted to the President of the Republic for promulgation.

The budget must be adopted on December 31 at the latest. If the two chambers have not voted on the budget by that date, the provisions of the draft finance laws may be implemented by decree, in renewable quarterly installments.

Article 29

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors meet each year in ordinary session beginning during the month of October and ending during the month of July. However, the first session of the mandate of the Chamber of Deputies begins during the fortnight following its election. The same deadline applies during the renewal of half of the members of the Chamber of Advisors.

In case the beginning of the first session of the mandate of the Chamber of Deputies coincides with its recess, a fifteen-day session is open.

During the summer recess, the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors meet in extraordinary session at the request of the President of the Republic or of the majority of the members of the Chamber of Deputies, to look into a specific agenda.

Article 30

Both the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors elect, from among their members, standing committees which work without interruption, even during the recess of the two chambers.

Both the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors elect, from among their members, committees to examine the draft development plan, and other committees to examine the draft finance laws. Besides, each chamber elects, from among its members, a special committee for parliamentary immunity and a special committee for the drafting or modification of the internal regulations.

Article 31

During the recess of the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Advisors, the President of the Republic may issue decrees which will be submitted, as the case may be, for ratification by the Chamber of Deputies or by the two chambers, during the ordinary session following the recess.

Article 32

The President of the Republic shall ratify treaties. Treaties concerning the State's borders, commercial treaties, treaties related to international organization, treaties concerning financial commitments of the State, as well as treaties including provisions of a legislative nature or relating to the status of persons, may be ratified only after being approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

Treaties come into force only following their ratification and provided they are applied by the other party. Treaties ratified by the President of the Republic and approved by the Chamber of Deputies have a higher authority than that of laws.